1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clamp and a structure for mounting a connector onto a wire harness using the clamp. More particularly, a connector connected with a branch line of a wire harness trunk line is fixed to the wire harness utilizing a clamp that hooks the wire harness to an automobile body.
2. Description of Background Information
In a wire harness wired in an automobile, as shown in FIG. 6, a clamp 1 for mounting on a car body has been conventionally installed on a wire harness W/H, and a connector 2 is connected with the end of a branch wire W/H-2 which is branched from the trunk line W/H-l of the wire harness W/H. When the connector 2 is required to be retained in the wire harness W/H, the connector 2 is wrapped and fixed to the wire harness W/H using a pressure sensitive tape 3.
As shown in FIG .7, the installation order of the clamp 1 with the connector 2 for the above-mentioned wire harness W/H is that the connector 2 is fixed by wrapping the pressure sensitive tape 3 only after the clamp 1 is installed on the wire harness W/H. At that time, since it is necessary to carefully align the installation direction of the clamp 1, the operability is made more difficult. Further, even if the connector 2 is installed at a fixed position, deviation in the position of the clamp 1 may occur during transportation because of the tape wrapping.
Further, since the tape 3 is wrapped on the connector 2, the locking part 2a that is provided on the outer face of the connector 2 is covered by the tape 3.
Accordingly, when the opposite side connector 5 of the terminal of another wire harness W/Hxe2x80x2 is fitted with the connector 2 in the assembly line of automobile, as shown in FIG. 8, a worker carries out the fitting work while pressing the tape 3 with fingers. Therefore, the lock 2a is pressed and there is a problem that an incomplete fitting is likely to occur.
Further, installation of the clamp 1 and installation of the connector 2 on the wire harness W/H are both required, and thus there is a problem that the installation may be difficult.
The present invention was developed with the above problems in mind, and one object of the present invention is to prevent the occurrence of the incomplete fitting of the connector by eliminating the fixation of the connector by tape. In another aspect of the present invention, the direction of the connector 2 relative to the clamp is designed to be automatically regulated, and the installation of the clamp and the connector on the wire harness W/H is designed to be easily carried out to improve working efficiency.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a clamp having a generally rectangular shaped base member which is arranged along one side of the outer periphery of a group of electric wires of a wire harness trunk line and opposite ends of which, in a longitudinal direction, are fixed to the wire harness by tape wrapping. An automobile body hooking part protrudes from an outer face of the base member, and an electric wire guide protrudes from an inside face of the base member. The wire guide is provided with concave portions for insertion of electric wires that are received in semi-arc shaped portions of the concave portions, and the wire guide also has a wide upper face. A connector locking part is provided on the upper face of the electric wire guide.
Further, the present invention provides a structure for fixing a connector on the wire harness utilizing the clamp described above, by locking a locking part of the connector connected with a wire harness branched line terminal on the above-mentioned connector locking part. In this regard, the electric wires are inserted into the concave portions of the electric wire guide and the wires are fixed by tape wrapping on the opposite ends of the base member positioned at one side of the outer periphery of the electric wire groups, with the locking part protruding on the other side of the outer periphery of the electric wire group.
The mounting structure of the above-mentioned connector can preferably be used in case of being interfittedly connected with an opposite side connector connected with another wire harness terminal. Further, the structure is not only limited to a connector in the case of connecting wire harnesses to each other by the connector, but can also be applied in the case of a joint connector.
The locking part of the above-mentioned clamp and the locking part of the connector are preferably a cassette type lock in which a hook of the locking part is locked on a central connection part of a generally H-shaped lock part.
As described above, when the locking part of the connector is provided unitarily with the clamp by which the wire harness is fixed to the automobile body, it becomes unnecessary to consider the installation direction of the connector, and the mounting of the connector can be carried out by a one touch operation of only locking the locking part of the connector on the locking part of the clamp, therefore the working efficiency can be improved. Further, since the connector is not wound by tape wrapping, the locking part of the connector is not covered. Thus, the occurrence of an incomplete fitting of the mating connectors, which has occurred in the case of fixing the connector by tape wrapping, can be prevented.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a clamp for mounting a connector to a wire harness is provided. The clamp includes a base member having first and second ends, the base member being positionable on an outer periphery of the wire harness and the first and second ends being securable to the wire harness by tape wrapping. A wire guide extends upwardly from an upper face of the base member, the wire guide having at least one concave portion for receiving wires of the wire harness and having a connector mounting portion. Additionally, a connector locking part is provided on the connector mounting portion.
In another aspect of the present invention, the at least one concave portion includes two concave portions, and each concave portion is provided on an opposite side of the wire guide so that the wires of the wire harness may be divided into two groups, with each group of wires being inserted into a respective concave portion.
In other aspects of the present invention, the clamp may further include a hooking part provided on a lower face of the base member, the hooking part being mountable in an aperture of an automobile body to secure the clamp thereto, the base member may have a generally rectangular configuration, the connector locking part may include a generally H-shaped member fixed at one end of the H-shape to the connector mounting portion, and the connector mounting portion of the wire guide may include a generally planar portion.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, a method of fixing a connector to a wire harness is provided. The method includes providing a clamp including a base member having first and second ends, the base member being positionable on an outer periphery of the wire harness and the first and second ends being securable to the wire harness by tape wrapping, a wire guide extending upwardly from an upper face of the base member, the wire guide having at least one concave portion for receiving wires of the wire harness and having a connector mounting portion, and a connector locking part provided on the connector mounting portion. The method further includes inserting the electric wires of the wire harness into the at least one concave portion, wrapping adhesive tape around the wire harness and the first and second ends of the base member, and locking a connector of a wire harness branched line terminal to the connector locking part.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the at least one concave portion may include two concave portions, and the method may further include dividing the wires of the wire harness into two groups, and inserting each group of wires into a respective concave portion prior to the wrapping.